Like last year, Tokyo’s party scene loves to celebrate Halloween as an opportunity to dress up in weird fashion or naughty costumes and dance the night away. Although this foreign holiday is not yet here, this Saturday was one of many pre-Halloween nightclub events at the Trump Room. Located in Shibuya, it is a small but nicely decorated club with three rooms on three floors.

The party was presented by bunny.×Tokyo cherry×Dead or Alive and called Mysterious Halloween Night – Tarot Fortune Teller, because it featured not only popular DJs from Tokyo and Nagoya, but also a small booth with a girl reading tarot cards for a measly ¥1000. However, I was more interested in the costumes and attires of my fellow partygoers and tried to capture the best of them. Sexy nurse outfits were rather popular this year, as were ballet costumes from the Black Swan movie, the usual Japanese cosplays and Western gothic/horror classics.

A leather-clad macho man and three Japanese ladies posing in the Trump Room.

Two beautiful Japanese girls in matching nurse costumes.

A blond Japanese girl wearing an elaborate Halloween costume.

Two other girls wearing nurse outfits at the Halloween party.

Japanese DJ Takeru with three female friends in the White Room.

A Japanese girl wearing a naughty Little Red Riding Hood costume.

Two Japanese girls cosplaying in black and white Black Swan costumes.

Popular DJ Takeru dancing in the Trump Room.

A dressed-up cute Japanese girl at the Mysterious Halloween Night event.

Like last summer, I went to the the manga and anime fair Comiket (コミケット) on Odaiba. Again I wanted to take pictures of the many cosplay girls and guys who gather at the Tokyo Big Sight venue. I also went to the となりでコスプレ博 (tonari de kosupure-haku — Cosplay in the Neighborhood exhibition) event in the TFT halls which, unlike the Comiket, costs money to enter. But due to the fact that the Comiket is attended by about 500,000 visitors and many thousands of cosplayers, photography at there is much more harder with all the other people taking pictures in the rather small areas where photography is allowed.

After grabbing a few shots indoors at the Comiket I went outside to the dedicated cosplay areas, where it was really crowded, hot and not that well suited for getting nice images. So I moved to the nearby Tokyo Fashion Town building and the Tonari de Cosplay expo.
As you can see, cosplays of Vocaloid characters were extremely popular this year!

Large crowds of manga fans at the Kokusai-Tenjijō station of the JR Rinkai line.

The entrance to the Tokyo Big Sight convention center.

One of several huge halls where tens of thousands of manga illustrators and related artists offer their merchandise.

Two female cosplayers dressed up as Nathan Seymour/Fire Emblem and Ivan Karelin/Origami Cyclone from the Tiger & Bunny (タイガー＆バニー) anime.

Although Halloween is still two weeks away, Tokyo is gearing up for its Japanese take on this foreign holiday. Many shops, restaurants and public spaces are already decorated with the usual Halloween accessories based on US influences. Stripped of all its pseudo-Celtic and pagan traditions, Halloween is pretty much an excuse for fancy dress parties with a goth/horror theme.

On this Saturday there was one of these nightclub events. Called “bunny. × Tokyo cherry × Dead or Alive presents SPECIAL HALLOWEEN PARTY – CIRCUS OF TERROR” Tokyo’s fashion party scene gathered in the multi-story Trump Room in Shibuya to celebrate and check out each others’ dresses and cosplays. Popular DJs like 2BOY, MA5AKAZ, Death Is Not My Aim, smoooch!, Cherry Boys, DaF, RS, Da Monde, lilith (of Kawaii Tokyo), Dusty John Thomas, Make the Chaos Party, Lie…, Shilas and MA-C were performing in a pretty much sold out club, so taking photos in this crowded environment turned out to be harder than expected!

One of Tokyo’s summer highlights is the manga and anime fair Comiket (コミケット) at Tokyo Big Sight on Odaiba. Also known as Comic Market, it is the world’s largest fair for self-published comic books (dōjinshi) with approximately 35,000 sellers and more than 500,000 attendees over the course of three days. True to its DIY roots the entrance is free, so if you can make the trip with the Yurikamome or Rinkai lines you should visit this biannual event.

Inside the large convention halls photography is forbidden, and there are only rows upon rows of tables where small publishing circles present and sell their comic books, artwork, music, accessories and other manga-related items (all surprisingly cheap). But outside there are two areas where thousands of cosplayers gather and photography is encouraged. As expected, these cosplay areas were rather crowded and you often have to “fight” with dozens of Japanese cameko (“camera boys”) to get the persons pose for you.

Tokyo Big Sight on Odaiba where the Comiket was happening.

Engrish warning: 'Don't use a color sprayer and a moose.'

Inside Tokyo Big Sight the movement of the crowds was very orderly. Also lots of huge posters were present.

A large group of Touhou Project (東方Project) cosplayers (including Youmu Konpaku, Yuyuko Saigyouji and Mima) being photographed by an even larger crowd of photographers.

After attending Gothic Bar Heaven 25 I decided to go to more Artism events in Tokyo. So I visited Gantai Alice 3 (眼帯アリス) at Live Inn Rosa in Ikebukuro this Sunday. As expected, it was mainly an event with several bands playing for about half an hour each, with some DJing thrown in in-between. However, the headliner of the evening was the popular Japanese comedian Minoru Torihada (鳥肌実) who gave one of his famous spoken-word performances. The bands consisted of サンドイッチで１２０分？ (Sandoitchi de Hyakunijūpun?), GPKISM, 桃尻東京テレビジョン (Momoziri Tōkyō Terebijon), 遺伝子組換こども会 (Idenshi Kumikae Kodomokai) and Mu☆Mu.

The first performer was “Maria“. Unfortunately, I missed most of his gig, so I got only few photos. Overall, it was a kinda weird a cappella performance with singing, screaming and talking.

The singer "Maria" performing at the Gantai Alice 3 event.

Although his stage persona came on as pretty weird, "Maria" was actually a pretty nice guy.

Part of "Maria's" performance was playing with an improvised flame­thrower made from a spraycan and a lighter.

The next performer was Mu☆Mu. They played minimalistic electro pop-rock filled with chiptune-like digital samples. MuMu also had good crowd participation as the audience was invited to dance along — which the people did, so it was a quite fun performance.

Mu☆Mu is the solo project of the singer and musician MuMu. Here he is playing guitar.

MuMu was supported by a guest drummer wearing a top hat.

MuMu's style was a combination of decora and fairy tale fashion.

MuMu invited the crowd to dance along with him, which the people did.

MuMu's performance was quite entertaining.

The singer of the one man band Mu☆Mu singing at the Gantai Alice 3 event in Ikebukuro.

The 3rd band of the evening was 遺伝子組換こども会 (Idenshi Kumikae Kodomokai), whose name could be best translated as “club of genetically-engineered children”. They were pretty unique insofar they did short Doraemon-inspired sketches before each of their songs, which was really fun to watch. Their music was fast and powerful pop-punk rock which was loved by the audience, who danced along to the instructions of the band.

Singer Nobita of 遺伝子組換こども会 giving a powerful performance at Live Inn Rosa.

The female bass player Ura (裏) of 遺伝子組換こども会 performing next to the singer Nobita.

The guitarist Kojirō of 遺伝子組換こども会 wearing his Doraemon cosplay while playing.

The Japanese punk rock band 遺伝子組換こども会 (The Club of Genetically-engineered Children) giving dance instructions to the audience.

The singer Nobita of 遺伝子組換こども会 in one of his quieter moments.

The fourth music group was +桃尻東京テレビジョン+ (Momoziri Tōkyō Terebijon), which means Peach-bottom Tokyo Television. They were pretty popular, too, and their punk rock music was supported by the audience moshing and waving fans. Overall it was another great performance by a energetic and well-rehearsed band.

The green-haired singer Alps of 桃尻東京テレビジョン was wearing gloves with glow-in-the-dark fingertips.

The line-up of 桃尻東京テレビジョン (Peach-bottom Tokyo Television) on stage at the Gantai Alice 3 event.

MGR-G100 of 桃尻東京テレビジョン playing keyboards and background singing.

GPKISM from Australia was the fifth musical performer. Their loud and gloomy gothic rock was quite different from music of the other bands, so the audience was less interested in their performance. I think they missed out on an up-and-coming Visual Kei band.

The Australian Visual Kei band GPKISM on stage at the Live In Rosa.

The guitar player Kiwamu (究) of GPKISM in his baroque fantasy uniform.

GPKISM was supported by a guest bass player dressed in black.

The male singer-songwriter GPK (Gothique Prince Ken) of GPKISM was singing both in Japanese and English.

GPK is the singer of the EBM/gothic rock band GPKISM.

Another wide-angle shot of GPKISM playing live in Tokyo.

The last band of Gantai Alice 03 was サンドイッチで１２０分？ (Sandoitchi de Hyakunijūpun?) = “120 Minutes for a Sandwich?”. They played hard, loud and fast punk rock which turned many of the cute and harmless-looking Japanese girls in the audience into headbanging fiends.

A shot of the wild and powerful performance of the Japanese pop punk band サンドイッチで１２０分？.

Bassist Tsuna Morikawa (森川ツナ) of サンドイッチで１２０分？ headbanging.

Bass player Tsuna Morikawa (森川ツナ) of サンドイッチで１２０分？ when he was not playing.

The singer and bandleader Retasu Matsuoka (松岡レタス) of サンドイッチで１２０分？ singing.

Again the concert goers were dancing and waving their arms according to the instructions of the band.

The final performer was Minoru Torihada (鳥肌実). He is an underground comedian, satirist and actor who uses an extreme right-wing persona to make fun of imperialists, the uyoku right-wing groups and current events (like the 2010 FIFA world cup). He gets taken way too seriously by the general public, but he has garnered a cult following among the more open-minded young people looking for shockingly absurd parodies of humorless Japanese realities.

Part of his performance is the impersonation and ridiculing of far-right activists.

Minoru Torihada (鳥肌実) talking very seriously and earnestly about the ills affecting Japanese society today.

Many consider Minoru Torihada the most brilliant and sarcastic stand-up comedian of Japan.

Behind him was an oversized Japanese national flag and a banner reading Torihada support meeting (鳥肌翼賛会).

At one point of his performance Minoru Torihada undressed and continued with his parodies.

The Gantai Alice 03 event was surprisingly well attended and not just by the regular Tokyo goth. Although it was far from sold out, each of the bands had their faithful followers who made every performance exciting and entertaining. Many members of the audience were dressed up in cosplays or other elaborate fashions, so I found many interesting subjects to document the personal styles of Japanese party people.

Two patrons of the Gantai Alice 3 event wearing Ronald McDonald cosplays and holding various signs.

The Japanese goth guy Eren wearing a jester-like outfit with horns and white hair.

A shot of the crowd (mostly) enjoying the performance of Mu☆Mu.

The Japanese DJ Manik (HimemaniK) and the girl named Chokomelo (チョコメロ) on the dancefloor.

DJ Manik (HimemaniK) with Chokomelo and Mochi posing for the camera.

Two Japanese goth girls dressed up for the Gantai Alice 3 event.

Japanese girl dressed in a sailor suit and wearing a blue wig with colorful decora accessories.

Goth girl Kurau with white facepaint and Japanese cyber fashion.

Artist and singer Naoki Tamamushi (玉虫ナヲキ) with a My Little Pony in her hair.

Kei dancing to electro music.

Yogore of 桃尻東京テレビジョン portraited with a cuddly toy after his performance.

Yogore and a female admirer posing together.

Two Japanese girls dressed as some scary nurses with huge syringes.

Alps of 桃尻東京テレビジョン enjoying a cold beer in private.

"Maguru-san" making the peace sign.

This blue-haired girl was holding a sign with "7 o'clock" written on it for another photographer and I grabbed a shot while he was chimping.

A very beautiful young Japanese lady at the Gantai Alice 3 event.

Another good-looking Japanese girl with a unique style.

DJ Sumata-Q (素股Ｑ) behind the turntables.

A Japanese guy with dyed hair and colorful facepaint including the kanji "heroic self-sacrifice" (玉砕).

Chokomelo and a female friend wearing summerly fashion at the Live Inn Rosa.

For very small-scale but highly interesting goth events in Tokyo there is the underground network Artism.jp. While the tightly-knit community of performers and patrons is pretty much Japanese-only, foreigners are welcome and so I went to the Gothic Bar Heaven 25 event at Club Crawl in Shibuya to see what’s up with the current Tokyo goth scene. It was a very lightly attended affair, but the performers and bands gave their best nevertheless.

First came Mario † Child (Mario Cross Child), a Japanese duo making a powerful mixture of metal, classic and synthesizer music. As you can see, not only the music, but also their costumes were influenced by Moi dix Mois and similar Visual Kei bands.

Singer Sylph of Mario † Child reaching up.

Both Sylph and Mogu were wearing white ruffles and lace outfits.

Sylph of Mario † Child kneeling on the stage while singing.

Sylph of Mario † Child performing at Club Crawl.

Guitar player Mogu of Mario † Child.

Sylph and Mogu's performance was supported by a masked dancer.

The second band of the evening was ManyCuRe, also a duo, but they were supported by two guest musicians. They played very loud, very energetic punk rock in a rough and entertaining performance.

ManyCuRe with frontman Gou Tragedy at Club Crawl.

Supporting female bass player of ManyCuRe.

Singer Gou Tragedy of ManyCuRe performing.

Male guitarist Tozie Comedy of ManyCuRe wearing a polka dot dress.

ManyCuRe on stage at Club Crawl in Shibuya.

ManyCuRe's support bass player moshing while playing.

The headliner of the event was the Gothic Rock band Ray Trak with singer Lynne Hobday. Their music reminded me a lot of Faith and the Muse and typical 4AD bands, which is quite a compliment. Their beautiful music was underlined by a strong performance by the band and the supporting “Gothic Fusion Belly Dance” by Neo and Min.

A small part of Ray Trak's line-up on stage performing their Gothic Rock.

Between the music acts several DJs played electro, EBM and goth music to entertain the patrons. As so often, these were dressed up in elaborate goth and cyberpunk fashion and were fun to photograph while they were dancing on the dancefloor or relaxing in the anteroom.

Friendly party girl Asuka on the dancefloor.

A male patron of Gothic Bar Heaven making a face.

The late hour took its toll on this anarchy girl.

DJ.U（a.k.a Slave No.1) and Asuka posing in Club Crawl.

Two tough Japanese goth guys discovering their love for pink bows and hearts.

I miss the bulk of the cosplayer which gathered on the Harajuku bridge on Sundays. A couple of years ago, there were lots of young people coming here to meet their friends and be seen by other people. Many dozens would “costume play” in public and be open for photography. Recently only a very small number of cosplayers come to Harajuku bridge and most of them are not that friendly or good anymore.

However, I do check the location from time to time and this Sunday some very interesting cosplays were on display. Without any doubt this old man took the cake when it came to cosplay design and presentation. He was dressed up as some kind of bespectacled old woman with a huge headdresss with dolls and live goldfish earrings. I don’t know if he is cosplaying an actual anime/manga character or if this cosplay is of his own design, but he is quite famous for it. His name is Eijirō Miyamae, but around here he is know as the “Harajuku ojisan” (原宿おじさん) and it was a pleasure to take some pictures of him.

Old Japanese guy in elaborate cosplay with live goldfishes.

Eijirō Miyamae wearing his female cosplay and a big hat covered with dolls and other small figurines.

Having covered the art of the Design Festa vol.31 in my previous post, I present you here a collection of photos of the people I saw at this art event. As with the previous shots it is a random collection of exhibitors, performers and visitors — don’t ask me for details…

I love the bustling creative chaos of the Design Festa. Many people grab the chance to dress up themselves. Stall owners present themselves as their alter egos or creative inventions, trying to impress the visitors so that they may stop and take a look at their artworks and merchandise. Others are performers or cosplayers, just dressed up for the hell of it. So in many ways it is very Japanese — a restrained outlet for one’s individuality and passions in a controlled and acceptable environment.

A Korean illustrator dressed up as the main character of his artworks - some kind of boxy bird.

Two people - one with a tiger suit - promote their booth by walking around.

I think this person in a schoolgirl's uniform with an oversized red bunny head is not only presenting the pictured paintings, but also a band called "Amanda".

This booth caters to "reenactors" - selling doll masks to male cosplayers who dress up as female manga characters.

Some nice paintings of weird situations and the girl who created them.

An old Japanese guy dressed in a dark-blue sailor suit who just walked around on the Design Festa event, getting lots of attention and loving every minute of it.

In contrast to the previous picture here is a real Japanese schoolgirl artist: Akayuki-hime (赤雪姫).⁽¹⁾

The Japanese cyberpunk industrial band Psydoll performs at the Design Festa live stage.⁽²⁾

The beer chicks at the Bar Cherry next to the outdoor stage selling alcoholic refreshments.

This Japanese guy dressed in a gray jumpsuit and a balaclava was walking around beating a drum and promoting some booth number.

A female cosplayer with a purple wig in her booth selling photos of herself modeling.